Questions Obnoxious* Jewish Teenagers Ask

*And By Obnoxious I Mean Really Smart and Insightful, Just Like You.

Over the last twenty years I’ve had a chance to work with all sorts of teens from all parts of the Jewish community and I’ve noticed that they all have very similar questions. In some places those questions are encouraged and discussed openly. In some places those questions are whispered and hidden. I hope you have at least one adult you can speak to with your questions. Questions are good! The whole process of learning Torah is based on questions! If you’re not asking questions then how do we know if you’re really engaged in what we’re doing? And not asking the questions out loud doesn’t make the questions go away. It makes them roll around in your head until they make quite the racket. Sometimes teens don’t ask because they think their questions are so powerful that if they got out the whole system of Torah will crumble under the weight of the question. Well, wonderful and important teenager, that is wholly unlikely.

So this book is about questions teens like to ask. We’ll try to explore some thinking on the big topics: davening, faith, working with parents that are complicated, Hashem, Torah, the purpose of life, that sort of thing. Maybe you’ll like my answers. Maybe you’ll have more questions. That’s great. Ask them. You deserve really great answers. You are, after all, the most important thing in all of creation.

Okay, let’s jump right in. Who’s got a question?